Everything you need to get started

When it comes to making your home smart, it can be confusing. There are so many different products, and systems that it's hard to know where to start.  You need to know which systems you want, what you want your home to be able to do, how to keep it all safe. Sometimes, you feel like giving up. Fortunately, as with many things, if you take it one step at a time, you can make it all make sense. 

Choose Your Core

This is where you start. If you're just shopping and randomly grabbing things that you like, they might not all work together. Instead, a way to do it is like planning a garden. You choose your tools with intention, and that starts by looking at the core. Which system do you want your home to run on? Is it Google's Assistant? Do you want to rely on Amazon's Alexa? Or do you want Apple's Siri? All of these have different toys, tech and background devices that achieve similar functions. Getting them to cross connect though? While it can be done, it's not easy. 

Can Your Home Handle It? 

We don't just mean the electrical grid, although that matters too. Instead, we're going to take a look at your internet. Have you ever had a group of friends over and everyone was on the internet for one reason or another? Maybe you're on because you've got music playing. Your brother is showing you the latest sports news. Your mom and your sister are discussing the latest politics, and your dad is browsing youtube. All of those people on the internet, will typically slow it down some, at least enough that you can notice it in comparison to how it is when you're the only one home. When you add smart devices, they are always on that network. Even if it's only checking in to see if you've said anything, they are always there. Which means that your internet is going to slow down. 

How do you prevent that then? By making sure your internet is at least 200 megabits per second or shortened as Mbps. By having at least that much, you'll be able to handle several devices on your network.

 

Create That Backup Plan!

What about when you have a blackout? Not like the great snow'pocalypse, but a summer blackout that lasts for a few hours or maybe a day. In that case, you might look into getting a backup battery for your internet modem. Just because the power is out in your home, in your street, in your city, it doesn't guarantee that your internet will be out. (Yes, it sounds odd, but we promise.) So, the best way to handle that is by purchasing a backup battery like these over at The Tool Review. The 10+ Best Battery Backup For Wifi Router Reviews in 2022: Top-Picks, Best Deals| Tool Review

Keeping It Hack Free

How many of these questions can be answered with your password? 

- Your birthday

- Your phone number

- Your spouse's name/birthdate/phone number

-Your favorite pet

-Your favorite sports team

-Your favorite book or tv show

If any of those are part of your password, you need to reconsider how you come up with your passwords.  You /can/ still use a combination of words and numbers, but they need to be ones that can't easily be answered. Grab a thesaurus and go looking for a word you associate with the account. Swap out all the letters you can for letters or symbols. and voila! You've got a strong password. 

Now, DON"T store that beautiful password on your computer. If you're like many people you might have been storing your password in a google docs file, a spreadsheet or a sticky note. No. All of those can be accessed by others. Instead consider one of the following. 

- A  password protection service like Dashlane. 

-A file you keep offline and saved to a USB. 

- An actual notebook for your passwords 

If you're going with the last two, don't tell anyone what they are, or write "Passwords" on the outside. While it's unlikely that someone will want to steal your work passwords, you would be surprised at the number of people who would be interested in stealing your bank or medical passwords. 

Now that we have your home set up and secure, let's take a look at what type of smart devices would best suit you at home. 

What Type of Smart Home Represents You? 

Are you an entertainer? Having friends and guests over most weekends and during the week too if you can? Then you might look into smart lights, a tv and a sound system. This way you can say "Hey Google! Turn the lights on X and play Y." And while you're working on that you can ask google for the contents of your fridge with a smart fridge to make sure that you always know what you have on hand for taking care of your guests. 

If on the other hand you're a homebody, you're more focused on keeping your comfy and secure. In which case, you'll want to add a system for thermostats, sounds, lights, a garage door opener, and a security system. The thermostats, sounds and lights can all be programmed to a 'routine' where once it's a certain time, your home system will turn everything to the settings you choose. The garage door opener isn't much different than a button activated one, but it's nice to be able to say "Hey Google, open the garage" as you're heading out the door. As for smart security systems, while they have many, many different features, one we particularly like is being able to pull up the feed directly on your phone or video hub to see if that was a raccoon you heard or an intruder. 

Our last category is one that many of us have been wanting since we were kids and is now becoming possible. The Jetsons! Although most of the systems won't talk to you or offer witty repartee like Rosie did, you can set up your home system to vacuum and mop for you. While the systems aren't perfect just yet, they definitely make your life easier, and isn't' that the point? 

What do you think? Which category of smart tools do you most want to get? Do you have some that we missed out on? Let us know in the comments below or over on our Facebook page, we'd love to hear from you! 

If you ended up here not for smart homes, but because of your already smart appliances (or 'dumb' ones, we work on them all) you're still in the right place! Everywhere from Carrollton to The Colony, to Coppell, we'll here for you and ready to help. Reach out to us on our contact page or by calling us at ((214) 599-0055).